Category: Gear reviews

“Ever since my childhood I’ve been scared, I’ve been afraid,of being trapped by circumstance, of staying in one place,and so I always keep a small bag full of clothes carefully stored,somewhere secret, somewhere safe, somewhere close to the door.”

That’s a great line from Frank Turner’s “The Road” that exemplifies the need of wanderers to be prepared to leave when the wanderlust hits them. You feel the urge to go, and after it becomes an established pattern, it just makes sense to have a bag that’s always ready. The term “go bag”, isn’t applicable since that’s gained connotations from the “prepper” demographic, and that’s not the situation here. This is more a collection of the things that should go in a bag to make it versatile enough that no matter where that urge is going to take you, you’re ready. It’s a hard thing to prepare for since your destination could be something outdoors related (a day hike location, an overnight camp site etc.), or a city whose street’s you’d like to wander for a few days

It should be stressed that this isn’t something that should be applied to a long trip. My ramblin’ bag has everything I need for a week at a stretch but is really more appropriate for a weekend trip. It’s something to encourage spontaneous trips, as opposed to those that take planning, and a specific set of gear, clothing etc. This list instead aims for versatility, and with the items in it, you should be able to adapt to whatever location has wormed itself into your mind and started calling to you to it. A lot of these are things people pack anyway, but what I’m advocating is picking up extras of those daily necessities and NEVER taking them out of this pack, so you don’t have to jump in your car and wonder “aw hell, did I bring soap”.

Clothes; this one goes without saying, but it’s worth mentioning. Go simple. I usually have two pairs of jeans, three or four plain black or white undershirts and a button down. The button down doesn’t get much use since the places I visit are usually for hiking, but if I stop into a city to see friends it’s nice to have the option. Shoes are another example of this. I’ve got a pair of boots I wear every day, but I usually bring along a pair of nicer shoes for the same reason as the button down.

A Toothbrush/Toothpaste/Soap ; I use my teeth like a goddamned multi-tool, so at the very least it’ll get the taste of whatever I just cut in half with my chompers out.

$250; Look, things happen. I was hiking and camping in Tennessee with a friend, and when we got back to the cars I realized that at some point my wallet had fallen out of my pocket. Luckily, I was with friends so wasn’t stranded for gas money, etc. However afterwards I started this practice of having some cash always in the bag, just in case I wasn’t around friends the next time.

Notepad; I scribble things down constantly, so this goes without saying. The other fun bit with having a pad that’s ONLY for this pack is that on the next trip you get to see all the thoughts you had on the last one, that you may have forgotten. It allows your spontaneous trips to build on each other in a way they wouldn’t without those reminders.

Phone charger; An extra one. Don’t ever take it out of the bag, even if it means buying a new one when your everyday charger breaks. Your phone fills in for a lot of items someone a decade ago would have needed. It’s a great tool for orienteering, emergency situations, photography etc, and it can only do all these tasks if it’s charged.

A utility knife; I don’t care if you’ve got an everyday carry that never leaves your pocket. Find a swiss army knife, or something similar and leave it in an outside pocket of the pack. If you think you need it, I also recommend a “hobo” style tool. If you’re eating on the road, or trail its a nice little bit of comfort, and definitely beats looking for plastic forks in gas stations.

Something to read; I’ve got a big book of poetry that goes everywhere with me, maybe you’ve got a book that you can read over and over, or a textbook of some kind you’ve been trying to slowly learn. Toss it in, you’ll appreciate it.

If you need other things, go ahead and toss them in. I travel pretty simple, but if anything jumps out at you that I haven’t discovered, and has made your travels easier chime in below and let me know about them.

I finally got a chance to test out the new pack, and I’ve got to say, it really exceeded my expectations. I picked this up through Redsgear, the outdoor gear company I work for. I’d read a few reviews of it, and it seemed like a good alternative to my old day bag that finally started to fall apart. The bag itself is built wicked tough, and has big fat zippers that I’m sure won’t break anytime soon. The real selling point for me was how moddable it is. There’s extra straps all over it, and plenty of MOLLE loops to attach extra pouches, my bed roll, etc. All of this I could kind of see before I bought it, but after carrying it around all day at elephant rocks over the weekend, I’ve got to say that the most impressive part is just how easy the thing is to carry. Even loaded up with thirty-five pounds of gear, I hardly noticed I was carrying it. I’m really looking forward to trying it out on some longer hikes.

So let’s get down to pros and cons here.

I’ll start off with the two complaints I have.

Size;The pack itself only has a 25-litre capacity, which is a bit on the small side compared to my old bag (32 litres). I was worried about this at first, but after loading it up this weekend, I’m less concerned. I fit all of my gear into the pack itself, and all that MOLLE is going to make it really damned easy to strap on my tent, sleeping bag and anything else I deem necessary.

Ease of access; This is my only real complaint, and ironically it’s caused by just how moddable the bag is. All of the MOLLE loops, as well as the extra straps that function as a place to slide a belt looped bag/hatchet sheath etc, mean that there’s a bit of unhooking to be done to get into the main part of the bag. It’s not a huge issue most of the time, but I can imagine it being a pain if you’re caught in a sudden rain or injured and trying to get to your first aid kit.

Now, onto the good stuff.

Hydration Compartment; I didn’t even realize this when I chose the bag, but it’s got a 3-litre area to insert a water bladder, and it’s so cleverly positioned that when I put the bladder in it actually functioned as a padding for my lower back. That may not have been the intention, but I’ve got a feeling that on long hikes I’ll be grateful for it.

MOLLE loops; So many MOLLE loops you guys. Just so many.

Straps; I’ve got a feeling this played a huge part in how easy the bag is to carry, but having waist and sternum straps is a huge shift. My old bag had a waist strap, but I rarely used it. I’m not sure why, because I’m definitely goign to make these straps a priority the next time I need a new bag.

Weight; This thing is pretty heavy duty, but there’s hardly any metal on it. On it’s own the bag only weighs 3lbs. That’s a huge improvement from my old 30 litre, which weighed in at about twice that.

All in all? Really happy with this bag, and I’m looking forward to modding it out with all of the accessories Maxpedition offers. I’ll have to take it on a real blister making hike before I head to Maine to see how it carries on a really long hike, but after this weekend, I’m not really worried about it in the slightest.

If any of you are interested in this, or anything else made by Maxpedition, head over to Redsgear and take a look at some of the stuff they offer. I’ve gotten most of my gear through them, and know for a fact that the people who run it will answer any question you’ve got about their products.

Slainte

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